Sunday, March 20, 2016

Looking Back: A Brief Perspective On Gridlock & Broken Government

While doing
some research on gridlock and broken government, I came across an interesting
Senate Hearing held on March 14, 2012. The hearing was called “Raising
the Bar for Congress: Reform Proposals for the 21st Century.” The hearing was
held by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs,
Chaired by then Senators Joe Lieberman (I-CT)
with minority chair Olympia Snowe (R-ME). At the time, both had announced their
intention to retire. [Link to the hearing and webcast below]

Most
interesting was the testimony from DonaldR. Wolfensberger, then with the WoodrowWilsonCenter & BipartisanPolicyCenter,
who chronicled his 50 years of working on congressional
reform efforts dating back to 1965.

Reflecting on his
experience and the Congress in 2012, he said:

“For in looking back on those years it seems that no matter how
much Congress reformed itself to adapt to changing times and public pressures,
the more it has seemed to slip backwards into more difficult times and
circumstances for which no measure of change would seem adequate.
Notwithstanding occasional bursts of reform and legislative productivity,
Congress seems to be stuck in a perpetual state of popular disfavor because of
perceived gridlock and partisan bickering. Today Congress’s job approval rating
hovers somewhere between 9 and 13 percent—the worst I’ve ever seen it. The
people are reacting to an institution they see as unable to tackle even its
most basic responsibilities.”

[Mar 9,
2016: In the U.S.,13%approve of the job Congress is doing, in
line with approval ratings ranging from 11% to 16% since August. The current
rating is just four percentage points above the record low of 9% recorded in
November 2013.]

It all sounds very
familiar and, unfortunately, has become even worse in the last 4 years. Mr.
Wolfensberger offered a list of ten guiding principles or objectives for use in shaping
worthwhile reforms:

·End
the gridlock;

·End
the bitter partisanship and incivility;

·Restore
public confidence in the institution by making it more responsive to national
problems;

·Strengthen
the legislative branch vis-à-vis the executive branch;

·Better
balance committee and party leadership powers;

·Restore
the regular order of fairness and deliberation;

·Make
Congress more efficient and productive;

·Address
problems that really matter versus those that only have a political purpose;

·Enhance
Congress’s oversight role; and

·Better inform the public about the activities of their government.

This blog
focuses on the last principle do to the necessity of having an informed public
to effectuate change. It is exceedingly difficult to achieve change from within
the House or Senate because, as we have discussed previously, both political
parties benefit from the chaos they have created and use it to their advantage
to move their own political agenda.

Intense
bipartisan political pressure, combined with assistance from a few remaining
Congressional statesmen and outside political leaders with the highest
integrity may be the only means of achieving reform. In an upcoming post, I
will discuss the urgent role of President Barack Obama in addressing the issue
of Congressional gridlock.